Scottish Executive

Central Heating

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-10150 by Jackie Baillie on 15 November 2000, how much of the £350 million funding for its central heating scheme it has provisionally allocated in each of the five years of the operation of the scheme to cover the costs of central heating installation in local authority homes in the Dumfries and Galloway Council area in the event of tenants in Dumfries and Galloway voting against whole stock transfer, and what will happen to any such provisional allocation in the event of whole stock transfer proceeding.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-10150 by Jackie Baillie on 15 November 2000, how much of the £350 million funding for its central heating scheme it has provisionally allocated in each of the five years of the operation of the scheme to cover the costs of central heating installation in local authority homes in the Orkney Islands Council area in the event of tenants in Orkney voting against whole stock transfer, and what will happen to any such provisional allocation in the event of whole stock transfer proceeding.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-10150 by Jackie Baillie on 15 November 2000, how much of the £350 million funding for its central heating scheme it has provisionally allocated in each of the five years of the operation of the scheme to cover the costs of central heating installation in local authority homes in the Aberdeen City Council area in the event of tenants in Aberdeen voting against whole stock transfer, and what will happen to any such provisional allocation in the event of whole stock transfer proceeding.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-10150 by Jackie Baillie on 15 November 2000, how much of the £350 million funding for its central heating scheme it has provisionally allocated in each of the five years of the operation of the scheme to cover the costs of central heating installation in local authority homes in the Shetland Islands Council area in the event of tenants in Shetland voting against whole stock transfer, and what will happen to any such provisional allocation in the event of whole stock transfer proceeding.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-10150 by Jackie Baillie on 15 November 2000, how much of the £350 million funding for its central heating scheme it has provisionally allocated in each of the five years of the operation of the scheme to cover the costs of central heating installation in local authority homes in the Scottish Borders Council area in the event of tenants in the Scottish Borders voting against whole stock transfer, and what will happen to any such provisional allocation in the event of whole stock transfer proceeding.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-10150 by Jackie Baillie on 15 November 2000, how much of the £350 million funding for its central heating scheme it has provisionally allocated in each of the five years of the operation of the scheme to cover the costs of central heating installation in local authority homes in the Glasgow City Council area in the event of tenants in Glasgow voting against whole stock transfer, and what will happen to any such provisional allocation in the event of whole stock transfer proceeding.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-10150 by Jackie Baillie on 15 November 2000, how much of the £350 million funding for its central heating scheme it has provisionally allocated in each of the five years of the operation of the scheme to cover the costs of central heating installation in local authority homes in the Comhairle nan Eilean Siar area in the event of tenants voting against whole stock transfer, and what will happen to any such provisional allocation in the event of whole stock transfer proceeding.

Jackie Baillie: : In those local authority areas actively considering community ownership, the resources required for the installation of central heating will be included in the business plan. In the event that tenants vote against community ownership, the necessary resources will be secured from the savings made in debt servicing. Irrespective of the decision on community ownership, all council tenants will receive central heating.

Crime

Elaine Thomson (Aberdeen North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the recent crime statistics showing a decrease in non-sexual crimes of violence, what future plans there are to develop campaigns such as Safer Scotland.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Scottish Executive committed substantial funding to the ‘Safer Scotland’ Campaign, which involved all eight police forces and the British Transport Police from October to December 2000. Over that period there was a considerable reduction in the number of certain types of violent crime compared with the figures for the corresponding period in the previous year which in turn had an impact on the decrease in non-sexual crimes of violence recorded for the whole year. The next phase of the ‘Safer Scotland’ Campaign, which from May will tackle drugs, will also be supported by the Scottish Executive.

Dentistry

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what changes there have been in recent years with respect to the provision of funding for braces for children’s teeth.

Susan Deacon: None.

Dentistry

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time for paediatric orthodontic treatment was in each of the last three years, broken down by health board area.

Susan Deacon: Most paediatric orthodontic treatments carried out within hospital and community health service settings are undertaken on an outpatient basis and information on waiting times for such treatments is not held centrally.

Drug Courts

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration is being given to the establishment of a drug court in the north east, what the reasons are for its position on this matter and, if such a court is to be established, where it will be sited and what the timetable is for its establishment.

Iain Gray: I expect to receive the proposals from the steering group considering the model for a drug court within Glasgow Sheriff Court shortly. This will inform my decision on the piloting of other drug courts. Meantime work is underway to introduce Drug Treatment and Testing Orders to sheriff courts in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.

Drug Courts

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on the establishment of a drug court.

Iain Gray: The Drug Court Working Group, chaired by Sheriff Principal Bowen, submitted its report on 1 May. This set out its proposed model for a pilot Drug Court at Glasgow Sheriff Court and opens the way for the establishment of the first drug court in Scotland. The plans are for it to be in operation before the end of this year.

  I am placing a copy in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 13259).

Education

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it is making in improving the teaching of modern languages in schools.

Mr Jack McConnell: Over 5000 primary teachers have completed training to teach a modern language. A further 687 teachers are currently being trained. In addition, revised assessment arrangements for Standard Grade modern languages will come into force in 2003.

Education

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what instructions or guidance it gives to local authorities on placing requests from parents whose children will be five when starting school.

Mr Jack McConnell: Guidance on this issue was issued to authorities on 16 January 2001 and is publicly available on request. A copy of the guidance has also been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

Education

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether priority is given to placing requests from parents whose children will be five when starting school.

Mr Jack McConnell: As a result of an anomaly in the Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc Act 2000, only parents whose children will be five or over when they start school are eligible to make a legal placing request. We have made a commitment to amend the legislation at the first available opportunity to ensure that parents of children who are four years and six months and over when they start school are eligible to make a placing request.

  This anomaly does not affect the entitlement of children who are under five when they start school to a school place. In the meantime, authorities have been asked to operate a system to ensure that wherever possible given the legislative restraints, parents of children who will be under five when they start school are given the opportunity to say which school they wish their child to attend. Authorities have been asked to grant those requests wherever possible and allow parents to appeal any decision not to grant them through internal appeals processes.

Education

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether medical reasons, the presence of siblings in a school and the needs of single parents are regarded in legislation or in practice, during the consideration of placing requests, as being of greater, lesser or equal importance than the needs of parents whose children will be five when starting school.

Mr Jack McConnell: As a result of an anomaly in the Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc Act 2000, only parents whose children will be five or over when they start school are eligible to make a legal placing request. We have made a commitment to amend the legislation at the first available opportunity to ensure that parents of children who are four years and six months and over when they start school are eligible to make a placing request. This anomaly does not affect the entitlement of children who are under five when they start school to a school place.

  The legislation requires authorities to set guidelines for placing children in their schools generally and to set criteria for accepting legal placing requests where there are more applications for places than places available. However, the legislation does not specify what those criteria might be or their order of priority. It is for authorities to decide what priority they give to different groups of children and therefore practice on taking such decisions will vary from authority to authority. Clearly such decisions have to be made within the existing legal framework, and the answer to question S1W-15097 gave information regarding guidance issued by the Scottish Executive on placing requests in January 2001.

Education

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish any instructions or guidance given to local authorities regarding decision making on placing requests.

Mr Jack McConnell: We do not give specific guidance to authorities on decision making on placing requests. Circular 8/96 outlined the changes in the placing request provisions following the Education (Scotland) Act 1996 and a copy of that has been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre. Explanatory notes were published by HMSO to accompany the Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc Act 2000 (ISBN 010591012 0). Circular 1/2000 (referred to in the answer to S1W-15097) is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre. All circulars are also available from the Scottish Executive on request.

Employment

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are in place to support young people in making the transition from education to employment.

Ms Wendy Alexander: There is a wide range of such measures. Free guidance, information and referral services are available to young people through the Careers Service Companies. The Executive also supports a wide range of activities in schools designed to develop links between education and the world of work. The enterprise network provides work-based training for modern apprenticeships and other vocational qualifications. As part of implementing the Beattie report on inclusiveness, the Executive is supporting 16 multi-agency projects across Scotland to support the learning and support needs of the most disadvantaged young people.

Environment

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that any new investment in recycling infrastructure to meet the recycling targets set for itself by the newspaper industry will benefit Scotland.

Rhona Brankin: The Executive is a joint contributor to the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP). One of WRAP’s key priorities is to stimulate a significant increase in newsprint reprocessing capacity in the UK. Specifically, WRAP’s programme includes a target to support investment that will create new manufacturing capacity to deliver a 500,000 tonnes a year increase in newspaper recycling. Our participation in WRAP is to ensure that the work and benefits of the programme also apply to Scotland.

Excellence Fund

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-1436 by Mr Sam Galbraith on 4 October 1999, how much funding each local authority will receive in respect of each of the Excellence Fund core programmes in (a) 2001-02, (b) 2002-03 and (c) 2003-04.

Mr Jack McConnell: The information for 2001-02 is in the following table, which, for formatting reasons, is in two parts. The Excellence Fund as currently constituted covers the three year period which ends in March 2002. No decisions have been taken on resource allocation beyond that date pending completion of a review we are carrying out into the future scope and operation of the Excellence Fund.

  


Education Authority 
  

Alternatives to Exclusion 
  

Study Support 
  

Early Intervention 
  

Supporting Parents 
  

Classroom Assistants 
  

Reducing Class Sizes 
  



Scotland 
  

£10,000,000 
  

£10,000,000 
  

£13,000,000 
  

£5,000,000 
  

£36,000,000 
  

£20,100,000 
  



Aberdeen City 
  

£350,065 
  

£349,776 
  

£455,556 
  

£175,032 
  

£909,233 
  

£431,184 
  



Aberdeenshire 
  

£502,104 
  

£485,208 
  

£680,359 
  

£251,052 
  

£1,500,880 
  

£614,083 
  



Angus 
  

£226,250 
  

£230,285 
  

£287,532 
  

£113,126 
  

£629,033 
  

£161,497 
  



Argyll & Bute 
  

£186,266 
  

£177,181 
  

£256,997 
  

£93,133 
  

£361,718 
  

£206,856 
  



Clackmannanshire 
  

£96,663 
  

£93,461 
  

£130,896 
  

£48,331 
  

£467,164 
  

£144,060 
  



Dumfries & Galloway 
  

£313,557 
  

£303,567 
  

£423,955 
  

£156,778 
  

£842,078 
  

£393,594 
  



Dundee City 
  

£275,600 
  

£281,744 
  

£348,234 
  

£137,800 
  

£782,826 
  

£595,933 
  



East Ayrshire 
  

£252,974 
  

£254,386 
  

£326,557 
  

£126,487 
  

£1,228,554 
  

£231,512 
  



East Dunbartonshire 
  

£256,523 
  

£272,762 
  

£306,932 
  

£128,262 
  

£1,290,744 
  

£178,126 
  



East Lothian 
  

£168,179 
  

£154,346 
  

£241,248 
  

£84,089 
  

£764,013 
  

£886,757 
  



East Renfrewshire 
  

£208,252 
  

£220,259 
  

£251,098 
  

£104,126 
  

£1,112,683 
  

£1,650,323 
  



Edinburgh, City of 
  

£639,709 
  

£614,599 
  

£872,672 
  

£319,854 
  

£2,803,301 
  

£2,207,853 
  



Eilean Siar 
  

£76,709 
  

£82,435 
  

£90,361 
  

£38,354 
  

£30,000 
  

£40,000 
  



Falkirk 
  

£273,851 
  

£270,390 
  

£361,665 
  

£136,925 
  

£1,375,983 
  

£483,363 
  



Fife 
  

£704,812 
  

£719,984 
  

£891,449 
  

£352,406 
  

£2,080,756 
  

£943,476 
  



Glasgow City 
  

£975,901 
  

£914,023 
  

£1,369,833 
  

£487,950 
  

£3,538,088 
  

£3,473,792 
  



Highland 
  

£471,128 
  

£466,864 
  

£619,437 
  

£235,564 
  

£1,043,250 
  

£358,319 
  



Inverclyde 
  

£176,359 
  

£182,400 
  

£219,391 
  

£88,180 
  

£781,155 
  

£266,584 
  



Midlothian 
  

£169,652 
  

£170,950 
  

£218,424 
  

£84,826 
  

£551,123 
  

£335,737 
  



Moray 
  

£183,962 
  

£180,913 
  

£244,134 
  

£91,981 
  

£484,831 
  

£229,948 
  



North Ayrshire 
  

£285,587 
  

£287,880 
  

£367,514 
  

£142,794 
  

£1,311,496 
  

£296,767 
  



North Lanarkshire 
  

£695,317 
  

£725,709 
  

£854,225 
  

£347,659 
  

£2,736,410 
  

£1,073,533 
  



Orkney Islands 
  

£53,943 
  

£58,182 
  

£63,195 
  

£26,971 
  

£30,000 
  

£31,413 
  



Perth & Kinross 
  

£250,651 
  

£242,177 
  

£339,701 
  

£125,326 
  

£770,194 
  

£852,683 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

£359,406 
  

£371,315 
  

£447,759 
  

£179,703 
  

£1,585,224 
  

£757,069 
  



Scottish Borders 
  

£214,058 
  

£210,486 
  

£284,117 
  

£107,029 
  

£596,659 
  

£231,000 
  



Shetland Islands 
  

£64,295 
  

£66,280 
  

£80,339 
  

£32,148 
  

£30,000 
  

£25,000 
  



South Ayrshire 
  

£233,411 
  

£248,598 
  

£278,607 
  

£116,706 
  

£949,245 
  

£269,602 
  



South Lanarkshire 
  

£629,672 
  

£647,461 
  

£789,489 
  

£314,836 
  

£2,703,070 
  

£1,012,250 
  



Stirling 
  

£170,032 
  

£177,909 
  

£208,165 
  

£85,016 
  

£564,266 
  

£455,277 
  



West Dunbartonshire 
  

£206,901 
  

£215,862 
  

£254,325 
  

£103,451 
  

£685,879 
  

£284,065 
  



West Lothian 
  

£328,211 
  

£322,608 
  

£435,834 
  

£164,105 
  

£1,460,144 
  

£978,344 
  



  


Education Authority 
  

Support for Teachers 
  

Higher Still 
  

National Grid for Learning 
  

Inclusion 
  

Total 
  



Scotland 
  

£10,000,000 
  

£5,000,000 
  

£23,600,000 
  

£13,000,000 
  

£145,700,000 
  



Aberdeen City 
  

£353,129 
  

£180,748 
  

£843,545 
  

£509,878 
  

£4,558,146 
  



Aberdeenshire 
  

£455,290 
  

£233,038 
  

£1,157,935 
  

£611,619 
  

£6,491,568 
  



Angus 
  

£233,081 
  

£119,302 
  

£523,297 
  

£275,022 
  

£2,798,425 
  



Argyll & Bute 
  

£183,027 
  

£93,681 
  

£422,802 
  

£215,009 
  

£2,196,670 
  



Clackmannanshire 
  

£90,057 
  

£46,095 
  

£234,088 
  

£127,267 
  

£1,478,082 
  



Dumfries & Galloway 
  

£324,738 
  

£166,216 
  

£704,668 
  

£361,122 
  

£3,990,273 
  



Dundee City 
  

£281,863 
  

£144,271 
  

£652,823 
  

£367,070 
  

£3,868,164 
  



East Ayrshire 
  

£240,548 
  

£123,124 
  

£602,664 
  

£313,613 
  

£3,700,419 
  



East Dunbartonshire 
  

£252,487 
  

£129,235 
  

£604,275 
  

£276,978 
  

£3,696,324 
  



East Lothian 
  

£147,168 
  

£75,327 
  

£410,264 
  

£222,262 
  

£3,153,653 
  



East Renfrewshire 
  

£198,289 
  

£101,494 
  

£494,726 
  

£229,650 
  

£4,570,900 
  



Edinburgh, City of 
  

£569,307 
  

£291,398 
  

£1,579,498 
  

£1,003,642 
  

£10,901,833 
  



Eilean Siar 
  

£178,801 
  

£45,759 
  

£137,904 
  

£72,494 
  

£792,817 
  



Falkirk 
  

£271,976 
  

£139,210 
  

£664,748 
  

£360,436 
  

£4,338,547 
  



Fife 
  

£698,505 
  

£357,526 
  

£1,669,009 
  

£906,353 
  

£9,324,276 
  



Glasgow City 
  

£893,922 
  

£457,550 
  

£2,388,392 
  

£1,558,104 
  

£16,057,555 
  



Highland 
  

£511,252 
  

£261,682 
  

£1,061,448 
  

£542,836 
  

£5,571,780 
  



Inverclyde 
  

£179,293 
  

£91,770 
  

£418,279 
  

£224,927 
  

£2,628,338 
  



Midlothian 
  

£166,328 
  

£85,134 
  

£407,716 
  

£207,655 
  

£2,397,545 
  



Moray 
  

£186,391 
  

£95,403 
  

£434,632 
  

£228,930 
  

£2,361,125 
  



North Ayrshire 
  

£275,996 
  

£141,268 
  

£680,153 
  

£373,772 
  

£4,163,227 
  



North Lanarkshire 
  

£699,982 
  

£358,283 
  

£1,647,171 
  

£878,399 
  

£10,016,688 
  



Orkney Islands 
  

£111,761 
  

£28,602 
  

£100,078 
  

£51,399 
  

£555,544 
  



Perth & Kinross 
  

£243,584 
  

£124,678 
  

£584,580 
  

£327,332 
  

£3,860,906 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

£343,242 
  

£175,687 
  

£855,134 
  

£457,489 
  

£5,532,028 
  



Scottish Borders 
  

£217,449 
  

£111,301 
  

£492,746 
  

£253,578 
  

£2,718,423 
  



Shetland Islands 
  

£172,318 
  

£44,100 
  

£121,341 
  

£65,860 
  

£701,681 
  



South Ayrshire 
  

£238,374 
  

£122,011 
  

£538,723 
  

£281,195 
  

£3,276,472 
  



South Lanarkshire 
  

£608,981 
  

£311,705 
  

£1,487,795 
  

£807,861 
  

£9,313,120 
  



Stirling 
  

£175,190 
  

£89,670 
  

£393,055 
  

£214,244 
  

£2,532,824 
  



West Dunbartonshire 
  

£195,704 
  

£100,171 
  

£490,058 
  

£258,818 
  

£2,795,234 
  



West Lothian 
  

£301,967 
  

£154,561 
  

£796,453 
  

£415,186 
  

£5,357,413

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

George Lyon (Argyll and Bute) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what financial implications the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak will have for the Scottish consolidated fund and whether there will be any implications for any existing spending plans.

Angus MacKay: The costs of foot-and-mouth disease compensation payments to farmers and carcase disposal are being met, throughout the UK, from the UK Exchequer. There are no implications for the Scottish Consolidated Fund or to the Executive’s spending plans arising from such costs. When the full extent of the outbreak and of its impacts are known Scottish Ministers will, of course, consider whether their existing spending plans continue to address the relevant policy priorities for the use of resources available. It would, however, be premature at this stage of the outbreak to speculate about possible changes in the focus of the Executive’s current spending plans.

Health Technology Board for Scotland

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-2911 by Susan Deacon on 8 February 2001, whether the Health Technology Board for Scotland’s advice on beta interferon is currently expected to be available in September.

Susan Deacon: The Health Technology Board for Scotland will report on beta interferons following the publication of the NICE guidance which is expected in September 2001.

  The Board is working closely with NICE to ensure that its Comment follows the NICE Guidance promptly.

Local Authorities

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish any instructions or guidelines it gives to voluntary or co-opted members of attendance and placing committees established by local authorities.

Mr Jack McConnell: The Executive does not publish any guidance in this area. The establishment and operation of such committees are matters for individual education authorities.

Local Government

Hugh Henry (Paisley South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it intends to establish a formal working agreement with local government.

Angus MacKay: I will, later today, be signing on behalf of the Executive a Partnership Framework with local government, a copy of which will be available from the Parliamentary Resource Centre and on the Scottish Executive Website. The Framework emphasises the importance the Executive places on working effectively with local government to ensure that the people of Scotland receive the level and quality of public service that they deserve.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how it ensures that community mental health staff are fully informed about patients in their caseload.

Malcolm Chisholm: Community mental health staff work closely with GPs, hospital physicians and community services (including those run by local authorities and voluntary organisations) to deliver services. Good professional practice will ensure that information about patients is shared appropriately between these services. This is supported by information systems which are maintained by health and local authority services.

NHS

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-11138 by Susan Deacon on 24 January 2001, how successful the Code of Practice on Openness for the NHS in Scotland has been in ensuring that internal committees of individual Health Boards do not operate under any presumption of privacy.

Susan Deacon: The Code of Practice on Openness for the NHS in Scotland makes a presumption of openness and accessibility of information to the public but also permits some information to be withheld. This includes information about internal discussion and advice. Health Boards are encouraged to make public as much information as possible about decision making, but it is for individual Boards to decide what should be published. In doing so, they need to ensure that publication will not hinder frank internal debate or the proper and effective operation of the organisation.

  The Scottish Executive does not monitor operation of the Code, nor does it have any plans to require Health Boards to make public information about meetings of internal committees. Health Boards, and other NHSScotland organisations, are aware of their responsibilities under the Code, one of which is to publish the name of the individual in their organisation who has responsibility for the operation of the Code.

NHS

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-11138 by Susan Deacon on 24 January 2001, what measures are in place to monitor Health Boards’ compliance with the Code of Practice on Openness for the NHS in Scotland.

Susan Deacon: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-15083.

NHS

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-11138 by Susan Deacon on 24 January 2001, whether the Code of Practice on Openness for the NHS in Scotland requires Health Board drugs and therapeutics committees to make public the minutes of their meetings and forthcoming agendas and, if not, whether it will introduce such a requirement.

Susan Deacon: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-15083.

National Parks

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the timetable is for the publication of the final boundaries of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park.

Rhona Brankin: We are presently considering the SNH consultation report and we hope to bring forward a draft Designation Order, including proposals for the National Park boundaries, for consultation very shortly. After consideration of the responses to that consultation we propose to bring forward our consultation report and Designation Order for Parliamentary approval in late Autumn.

Planning

Mr Kenneth Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking in relation to third party rights in local planning decisions.

Lewis Macdonald: The planning system recognises the fundamental importance of ensuring that third parties have proper opportunity to participate in the planning process. We will consult during the summer on how best to encourage more effective public involvement in the planning process.

Police

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much overtime each police force paid to police officers in each of the last three years and what percentage of the total salary budget of each force each of these figures represents.

Mr Jim Wallace: This is set out in the table for the latest three years for which information is available.

  

 

1997-98 
  

1998-99 
  

1999-2000 
  



Force 
  

Overtime (£ million) 
  

As % of salary budget 
  

Overtime (£ million) 
  

As % of salary budget 
  

Overtime (£ million) 
  

As % of salary budget 
  



Central 
  

1.2 
  

7.2 
  

1.3 
  

7.1 
  

2.1 
  

10.7 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

0.9 
  

8.6 
  

0.9 
  

8.3 
  

1.0 
  

9.2 
  



Fife 
  

1.3 
  

6.4 
  

1.3 
  

5.9 
  

1.9 
  

8.4 
  



Grampian 
  

2.4 
  

8.0 
  

2.9 
  

9.1 
  

3.3 
  

9.9 
  



Lothian and Borders 
  

5.0 
  

7.7 
  

3.2 
  

4.9 
  

4.8 
  

7.0 
  



Northern 
  

1.2 
  

7.4 
  

1.2 
  

7.1 
  

1.9 
  

10.5 
  



Strathclyde 
  

13.1 
  

7.4 
  

14.2 
  

7.7 
  

20.0 
  

10.2 
  



Tayside 
  

1.5 
  

5.5 
  

1.5 
  

5.3 
  

2.3 
  

8.1 
  



Total 
  

26.7 
  

7.3 
  

26.5 
  

7.0 
  

32.4 
  

9.4 
  



  Source: Police Grant Claim form (PG1) submitted annually by police authorities.

  Note:

  For the purposes of the table above, the salary budget for each force is taken as the total pay to police officers plus overtime but excluding allowances, pensions, superannuation and national insurance.

Police

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the core contractual hours for police officers were in each police force in each of the last three years; how many and what percentage of officers in each force exceeded these core hours in each of these years, and what the average number of hours worked per week per officer was in each force in each year.

Mr Jim Wallace: This information is not held centrally.

Police

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many and what percentage of police officers worked more than 48 hours per week averaged over any 17 week period in each of the last three years, broken down by police force.

Mr Jim Wallace: This information is not held centrally.

Prison Service

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Minister for Justice last met the Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service and what issues were discussed.

Mr Jim Wallace: I periodically meet with the Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to discuss matters affecting the Service. My last such meeting was on Monday 30 April 2001.

Prison Service

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met representatives of the Prison Officers’ Association Scotland.

Mr Jim Wallace: Representatives of the Scottish Prison Service and the Prison Officers’ Association attended a conciliation hearing on 1 May 2001 which was chaired by the Director of ACAS for Scotland.

  As a result, the dispute about staff attendance patterns has been referred for resolution to an Independent Arbiter appointed by ACAS. The hearing will be arranged at an early date and will produce an outcome this month that is binding on both sides.

Social Inclusion

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to meet the targets set out in the action plan in the Action for Inclusion report by Universities Scotland.

Ms Wendy Alexander: We welcome the publication by Universities Scotland of the Access to Achievement and the Action for Inclusion reports. We agree that partnership between higher education institutions, further education colleges, local authorities, schools and other providers of learning is necessary in order to widen participation in higher education by those from currently under-represented groups. While most of the points in the action plan are primarily for the sector, we will continue to play our part to help achieve this aim.

Sport

Cathy Peattie (Falkirk East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on the phased introduction of school sports co-ordinators.

Allan Wilson: As of the end of March 2001,  sportscotland had offered lottery awards to 23 local authorities and 11 individual secondary schools covering 294 posts.

Voluntary Organisations

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it supports voluntary and charitable organisations receiving assistance towards their water bills.

Ross Finnie: The Executive’s views on this issue were fully set out in the Members Debate on 4 April.

Voluntary Organisations

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ensure that continuing funding is provided by national and local government to voluntary organisations to enable them to fulfil their potential in providing services to the community.

Jackie Baillie: The Scottish Executive’s direct support for the voluntary sector now stands at record levels: £35 million in 2000-01, an increase of over 30% on the previous year. In addition, £265 million of support was provided indirectly through public bodies such as Scottish Homes, Health Boards and Local Enterprise Companies. On 30 April we launched a public consultation on the Executive’s direct funding for the sector and on the basis of the responses we receive will be looking at ways in which we can improve upon present funding practice.

  Local authority support for voluntary and community groups is a matter for each individual council to determine. However, we encourage councils actively to support the vital work of the voluntary sector in their local communities.

Working Groups

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-7436 by Mr Sam Galbraith on 26 June 2000, whether it will give details of any additional task forces, working groups, review groups, action groups and similar committees established since June 2000 by the ministers with policy responsibility for children, education, culture and sport.

Mr Jack McConnell: The following groups have been set up:-

  The Working Group on the Reintegration of Pre-school Grant - has met three times and has now concluded its business.

  The Working Group on Teacher Involvement in Pre-school Education - set up in January. Has met three times; its work should be concluded within two or three further meetings.

  The Child Protection Thematic Review - announced March 2001. Will report by June 2002.

  The Discipline Task Group - set up in January 2001. Will report in June 2001.

  Time Intervals Monitoring Group - Inaugural meeting June 2001. Will report to Ministers annually.

  Adoption Policy Review Group - setting up announced on 4 April 2001. First meeting due to take place in May.

  Internet Safety review group - group has, as yet, not met.

  Devolved School Management Review Group - set up November 2000. Due to report in Summer 2001.

  A Teaching Profession for the 21st Century Implementation Group - set up September 2000. Agreement reached 12 January 2001.

  Ministerial Strategy Group for CPD - first met October 2000; to oversee CPD framework until August 2003.

  Short-term working group on planning for children’s services - first meeting scheduled for 4 May 2001. Expected to finish in September 2001.

  Gaelic Advisory Group - set up in December 2000.

  National Qualifications Steering Group - set up in January 2001.

Working Groups

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-7436 by Mr Sam Galbraith on 26 June 2000, which of the four groups are still in existence and which have been wound up.

Mr Jack McConnell: All four groups have been wound up.

Young Offenders

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many secure places for young offenders there were in each of the last three years, broken down by parliamentary region.

Mr Jack McConnell: Any child or young person may be placed in secure accommodation either following a children’s hearing, or by a local authority chief social work officer, with the agreement of the person in charge of the secure establishment, or by a court.

  The number of secure places located in residential establishments available for children and young people as at 31 December in each of the last 3 years by parliamentary region is as follows:

  


Parliamentary Region 
  

1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  



Lothian 
  

12* 
  

12* 
  

12* 
  



Mid-Scotland and Fife 
  

2 
  

2 
  

Nil 
  



North-East 
  

25* 
  

25* 
  

29** 
  



Southern 
  

24 
  

24 
  

24 
  



West 
  

24 
  

24 
  

30 
  



Total 
  

87 
  

87 
  

95 
  



  * Includes one emergency bed.

  ** Includes two emergency beds.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Parliamentary Website

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-14808 on 18 April 2001, when it is anticipated that public information in ethnic and European languages will be made available on the Parliament’s website.

Sir David Steel: It is anticipated that the information will be available from September 2001.

Scottish Parliament Publications

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Presiding Officer what the total costs were of the publication, including the design, photocopying, printing, Internet connection of text, distribution and cost of launch, of the Annual Report of the Scottish Parliament Committees 2000.

Sir David Steel: The total costs of the Annual Report of the Scottish Parliament Committees 2000 were as follows: the total for design, printing, binding and publishing was £8,600; the photography costs were £3,747; distribution cost £371, making a total of £12,718. There were no additional costs for "Internet connection of text". There was no "launch".